Italy to push UEFA for tough racism curbs

MILAN (AFP) –

Simone Perrotta (right) intercept Mario Balotelli at the San Siro stadium in Milan on Sunday. Italian football federation president Giancarlo Abete will ask UEFA chief Michel Platini to introduce tough new legislation in a bid to drive racism from the sport following the latest incident to tarnish the game in Italy.

Italian football federation president Giancarlo Abete will ask UEFA chief Michel Platini to introduce tough new legislation in a bid to drive racism from the sport following the latest incident to tarnish the game in Italy.

The move follows a match between AC Milan and Roma on Sunday at which Milan players Mario Balotelli and Kevin Prince Boateng were racially abused by a section of the visiting Roma fans.

It led to the match referee implementing an existing but rarely-used Serie A rule by halting the game for almost two minutes to ask the fans, via a tannoy address, to curtail their behaviour.

Roma condemned the incidents and called them “totally unacceptable” but is likely to face a fine for its fans’ behaviour.

Abete said he will propose the introduction of tougher anti-racism measures to replace the much-criticised existing system of fines when UEFA’s executive committee congress meets in London on May 24.

UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino last month mooted tougher sanctions for players found guilty of racial abuse, including a minimum 10-match ban, and stricter punishments for clubs, including partial and full stadium closures.

In a statement on www.figc.com, Abete called for powers to close “whole sections of grounds” in the event of incidents similar to those at the San Siro.

“Fines don’t solve the problem (of racism), because some people don’t care whether their club is fined 10 or 20,000 euros… we have to block certain people from the ground,” said Abete.

Kevin-Prince Boateng (right) takes on Juventus’ Arturo Vidal in Turin last month. Italy is seeking new UEFA laws following a match between AC Milan and Roma on Sunday at Boateng and AC Milan team-mate Mario Balotelli were racially abused by a section of the visiting Roma fans.

“Then, by using tickets with names, we have to stop people going to other parts of the stadium.”

Abete said if need be, “some whole sections of grounds could be closed” in the event of repeat incidents.

Earlier this year Boateng made world headlines when he led Milan off the pitch during a friendly with third division side Pro Patria after falling victim to racist chanting.

Although Boateng won worldwide applause for his stance, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said he would not condone the idea of players or teams abandoning games to protest racism.

The FIFA chief reacted to the latest racist incident by posting a message on his Twitter account on Monday which read: “Appalled to read about racist abuse in Serie A last night. Tackling this issue is complex, but we’re committed to action, not just words.”

Abete, meanwhile, applauded the procedure — introduced by officials in the wake of the Boateng controversy in January — used by officials at the Milan-Roma match in a bid to stop the racist chanting.

“There was great coordination between those responsible for public order, the referee, the other match officials and the players,” added Abete, referring to the temporary stoppage of the match.

“The procedure developed in the wake of the Pro Patria v Milan incident worked. The players signalled to the referee who then tried to deal with the problem.”

Abete added, however: “Each negative episode like this only serves to weaken the image of our football and, because of a few hundred idiots, our entire country as well.”